Baker Lake 50k Race Report

Last night, I zipped through a team happy hour and then a birthday party on the hill to make it home in time to have a good balanced pre-race dinner with Jen. We hit the road by 5:15 AM and headed North for my first endurance marathon, the Baker Lake 50k.

We were fortunate enough to leave the rain in Seattle and got me there in time to get in no less than 3 potty stops while swarms of mosquitoes feasted on all of us. I liked how very low-key the start was and had some time to mentally prepare for the race. Okay, mentally preparing meant pretty much silently freaking out while Jen unsuccessfully tried to make me smile for a picture.

The race course had to be changed so it was a double out and back on single track with an extra 4 mile dog leg on a dirt rode before going out on the trail.

We stood through a race briefing at the start line and took off.

The first 1.7 miles started flat and then were uphill. Then the next two miles (note the ones added) were straight uphill on a dirt road. Not a great way to start the race but I was able to climb steadily and get a bit of speed on the way down. Then off to the trail part and out and back 1 (14 miles). Now that trail part had been billed as quite flat but I learned it is a matter of perspective. It was more like the Cougar Mountain Trail runs and had much more ascending, descending and technical challenges than I had anticipated. Of course the first 3 uphill miles didn't help :(

I started to freak out a bit about the narrow path thinking about all the other runners I would have to navigate the path with but made myself just let it go and not waste my energy on something that hadn't happened yet. I ran for about 6 miles with another woman because we paced well together. I realized though that my HR was a bit high and I did not want to spend everything the first half so I had her go ahead of me on a hill while I race walked it.

On the way back the first time, I started to lose it a bit both physically and mentally. I was surprised by the depth and breadth of highs and lows that I experienced. Often, I was completely alone and started to get really tired forcing me to combine more walking with my running. It turned out that the back part seemed to have more ascending -- realizing that helped me the second time. I also had my only wipe out when trying to pass a guy on the trail. He had moved over a bit to let me go by but I slipped when stepping off the trail on some branches and landed on a stick that left a good sized mark on my side.

I hit the aid station at about 20 miles in and got a lot of encouragement from Jen there as well as some Pepsi that tasted just amazing. After procrastinating (for a few more moments), I headed back out for 10 miles. I felt great again on the way out and had a solid pace to the turn around point. Perry offered some encouraging words at that point and then passed me to finish 8 minutes ahead. He told me that we should finish together and I tried to keep up for 1 minute before watching him bound off.

My final back was pretty much mental and all I could think about was the Pepsi at the aid station. Pace was pretty much a run/walk and I gulped three small cups of Pepsi at the aid station before the last 1.7 miles heading down the hill towards the finish line. Nothing was left in my system at that point and 2 of the women I had been leap-frogging with during the race flew by me.

I limped in (Jen shot a video of it at the finish line on her phone and I am trying to get it to load...) and after crossing the finish line, I said "I don't want to run another 19 miles". One of the guys sitting at the finish said "You will by next week". I was hoping to get under 6 hours but was happy with a 06:03:00 finish (11:30 pace). Jen did a great job taking care of me after and got me fed, moving and changed. I had one little teary melt-down when trying to take off my shoes but it was minor.

31.5 Mile Trail Run @ 06:03:00

I very much like the trail running culture and thought about some of the differences during the race.

IN Quiet pre-race introspection and friendly encouragement
OUT Pre-race posing and smack talking.

IN Race attire for comfort, not appearance
OUT Matchy matchy tri suits with racing stripes/flowers/etc.

IN Wool socks and Gators with dorky prints
OUT Wright Running socks and bike socks with designs around the cuff

IN Beautiful litter-free path. Never once saw even the corner of a gel package
OUT Race food packaging and discarded water bottles along the side of the road

IN Lots of genuine encouragement and friendly chatter
OUT "On your LEFT"

IN Brave Soldier (much much better!)
OUT Body Glide

I am afraid I am a bit hooked...